The first time I read about quantum computing was a few years ago, but back at that time, the concept was deemed to be very theoretical that wasn’t ready to deliver commercially viable solutions.

However, recent discoveries made by Griffith University and the University of Queensland last year around Fredkin gate, encouraged experts (and technology vendors) to accelerate the race to launch commercially viable products, leveraging the power of quantum computing.

Quantum Computing for dummies

For those, who are hearing about this concept the first time, the simplest explanation of quantum computing I have come across with sounds like the following:

‘there isn’t one’

… therefore, I found, for layman people such as myself, it is easier to understand the key characteristics…

In simple terms, in traditional computer science, engineers are programming with ‘bits’ where a bit can either be a ‘1’ or a ‘0’.

The magic behind ‘quantum bits’ (qubits) is, that similar to basic quantum physic theories, a qubit can be simultaneously 1 and 0. This means that two qubits could potentially have four values at the same time: 00, 01, 10, and 11.

Computers’ performance

Moore’s law stood true for decades, claiming that the number of transistors stuck on integrated circuits had doubled every year since its invention, delivering increasingly powerful computers. However, this trend stopped being true in the last few years. CPU performance in the last few years hasn’t improved despite the increased density of transistors on circuits.

By tapping into the ‘chameleon-esque’ behavior of qubits (it can simultaneously be a ‘1 and a ‘0’), quantum computing will deliver exponential boosts in processing power, something that traditional hardware evolution cannot provide

Why is this all very relevant today?

It is certainly not by mistake that companies like Google, NASA, Microsoft are heavily investing in resources to identify how quantum computing can be commercially leveraged in a scalable and cost effective way. (A number of factors have made quantum computing a difficult concept to take commercial advantage of. One being that, qubits can operate only in very ‘undisturbed’ environments. Microsoft is currently experimenting with ‘topological qubits’ that are more resistant to changing conditions, in the hope to deliver more practical solutions.)

With increasingly ubiquitous AI powered applications, the pressure on computers to process large amount of data in a speedy manner has become a challenge.

The initial tests with D-Waves Quantum Computer (DWave 2X) run by Nasa and Google, results are delivered in a matter of seconds instead of years that would be needed by traditional computers. These results are deemed very encouraging by everybody that are seeking to resolve some very complex challenges in Medical or Agriculture research.

9 years ago, when I decided to move to the UK, I didn’t know what made this country truly unique.

It is only by living and breathing the British culture that one fully understands the true foundation of this country’s uniqueness.

In the humble opinion of an‘outsider’, it is this very uniqueness this country is on the verge of losing.

The values – what makes (made) Britain, Great Britain?

Liberalism + Conservatism working as one – Great Britain thrives on the effective handshake of ‘new meets old’. It is enough to look at its governing power, its architecture, its industries…and one can see perfect harmony between progressive thinking and conservative values delivering economic and cultural synergies.

Leadership – leadership is a team effort. Leadership is about influencing people towards a better good. This country exercised great power in tricky international conflicts. It managed to turn the tide in challenging economic and political situations. This country is needed to make an ‘insider’ impact within the EU institutions.

Respect – whilst people might not talk to each other on the tube, it is also a country where one can learn what real respect is. Respect towards hard working people (it is nevertheless a meritocracy based business culture), respect towards the minority, respect towards the vulnerable. Giving up on the idea behind a Union where countries push and pull each other towards a common and shared value system projects the exact opposite message

Just by listening to some of the discussions and arguments raised as part of the ‘Leave’ campaign, Britain is not doing justice to itself as far as the above mentioned principles are concerned.

Border control, economic and political independence are going against everything that this country stands for.

Opting for independence, means giving up on exercising smart power from inside. Opting for independence means a very clear message: Britain wants to believe that the country is stronger on its own.

People in Britain underestimate the harm this referendum can do when it comes to what this country really stands for, in the eye of anybody who fell in love with this country for its value and belief system.

Have you ever thought about the value of ‘1 second’ of your attention?

Humans’ attention span is getting shorter and shorter. (In fact, according to much promoted statistics about ‘the web,’ I already lost 80% of the readers by now… (80% of browsers spend less that 4 seconds on a page)

The ranking – winners and losers

We are officially worse than goldfish (You and me, in 2000, we had an attention span of 12 seconds…10 years later, we are at 8 seconds, which is officially worse than a goldfish (9)… though I am not entirely convinced how they measure a goldfish’s attention span, it should still be considered a relatively poor result)

Have you ever noticed that books are getting shorter and there are more and more TV series…?

Books are getting shorter. Now, this is a LIE. Most books are getting shorter, according to the Guardian, if you want to be successful at selling a book, you have two choices: either you have to write something that is shorter than 250 or quite the opposite…longer than 800. (just think about the Luminaires, this year’s booker prize winner)

Talk to me – only in pictures please!

Most people cannot even read documents anymore… In fact, most people when they ask for a report, quite often the only thing it should not feature is

T

E

X

T. People cannot concentrate on reading documents… (but we do check our emails 40 times an hour!!!! Well, an average person does) Instead, we want to look at pretty pictures… (I am praising the day when people will be sick of info graphics… these days, if it was most people’s choice, they would put a poem into an info graph) BTW, after 20 min of research, I could not find ANY poem ‘written’ in an info graphic… so it looks like with poems we are on safe territory.

Positive realism

BUT… Let’s put the sarcasm aside, and focus on the silver lining….

Short attention span also means..

• We have to grasps complex concepts much quicker.

• Which also means, we have to present complex concepts much simpler, if we want to be heard.

• Only the best marketers will survive – humor, gamification, unexpected turn of events … pictures…

• TV series are actually better than most movies anyway

• And as far as I am concerned, it made the world of World Cinema more appealing (because one needs to read subtitles, that makes us concentrate more and the best movies I have seen recently were all foreign movies…

Anybody who sat in to any marketing class for at least 5 minutes will be familiar with the concept of AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action). These are (were) the stages that a consumer would go through as part of the buying process and is considered to be the holy grail for advertising.

According to new theories about Attention Economies, in addition to the AIDA concept, we should also look at other ‘intangibles’. These intangibles were identified as

1. Immediacy – priority access, immediate delivery – just remember The Times’ campaign from two years ago saying ‘guaranteed delivery by 6.45am’ (which apparently the average time a Londoner would get up)

2. Personalization – tailored just for you

3. Interpretation – support and guidance

4. Authenticity – how can you be sure it is the real thing?

5. Accessibility – wherever, whenever

6. Embodiment – books, live music

7. Patronage – “paying simply because it feels good”,

8. Findability – “When there are millions of books, millions of songs, millions of films, millions of applications, millions of everything requesting our attention — and most of it free —being found is valuable.”